A high percentage of women use foundation makeup. Current commercial products are of excellent quality and are available in shades that correctly match skin color. Yet foundation users remain unsatisfied. For example, a high percentage of ethnic women use foundation, yet are unhappy with the ashy, chalky tone that it often gives their skin. Often these products contain significant amounts of titanium dioxide which provides excellent coverage but can create a mask-like appearance. This is believed to be due in part to the undertones in skin color which provide the appearance of warmth or coolness in addition to depth and dimension. Foundation makeup that masks the natural undertones of skin often causes the facial skin to appear unnatural because it covers the natural dimensionality of the skin. The big need gap is for makeup products such as foundations that provide coverage without masking skin undertones, which provides an undesirable mask-like appearance.
Another reason for the importance of formulating such foundations has to do with SKU (“stock keeping unit”) reduction. In order to meet the needs of all users, cosmetics companies must formulate a large number of foundation color choices to satisfy their customer base. Many of these shades sell very poorly or not at all. A large number of SKUs means larger cost to the cosmetics manufacturer. Thus, there is interest in formulating foundation makeup products that will match a wider range of skin colors. SKU reduction benefits both the cosmetics company and the consumer. In addition it removes some of the confusion associated with the consumer's color choices, which are never easy. Also more SKU's means increased product cost to the consumer because, ultimately, the higher cost of goods is reflected in a higher retail price to consumers.
It has been found that when color cosmetics are formulated with certain types of composite particulates that have a portion of clear or translucent thermoplastic material in the particulate, that color cosmetics will exhibit improved appearance on skin, including an improved appearance of dimensionality, depth and skin undertones, as well as reduction in the ashy, chalky, or mask-like appearance of color cosmetics such as foundation. In addition, the composite particulates facilitate reduction in the number of shades of the color cosmetic that are necessary to match all skin shades in a shade range.
It is the object of the invention to provide color cosmetic compositions that are more “universal”, meaning that a particular color will match a larger number of color shades in a shade category. For example, a foundation that may be deemed more universal in its color matching properties may be designated Color #1 and it may match skin color shades 1, 2 and 3 in the shade category “Light” as opposed to the necessity of three different shades in the Light category with a traditional foundation.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a composite particulate containing a colorant portion and a clear or translucent thermoplastic portion.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a composition for application to keratinous surfaces such as skin, hair, or nails, comprising the composite particulate.
It is a further object to provide a method for improving the appearance of depth, dimensionality, and skin undertones by providing a natural appearance color cosmetic that contains composite particulates.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method for reducing the ashy, chalky, or mask-like appearance of compositions such as foundation makeup on the skin by formulating the composition with composite particulates.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a method for reducing the number of SKUs in a color cosmetic shade range by formulating the color cosmetics with composite particulates.